The present invention relates generally to an electrical connector for connecting conductors of a cable to circuits on a printed circuit board, and more particularly, to an improved circuit board connector having an exterior shell covering the connector that provides a larger circuit path through the connector and which provides increased resistance to insertion and removal forces.
Conventional circuit board connectors include an insulative housing that supports a plurality of terminals. Such a connector is shown and described in published Japanese Utility Model Examined Publication No. 7-16312 and this connector includes an exterior metal cover that is press-fitted to at least part of the connector housing. A hollow, cylindrical section of the metal cover encircles the terminal contacts of the connector that are arranged at a forward part of the connector housing and further accommodates an opposing connector. The metal cover prevents electromagnetic interference from occurring in the circuits of the connector. The cover includes an inverted U-shaped section that lies adjacent its forward part, which encircles a corresponding forward part of the connector housing. This U-shaped section includes a top wall and two opposing sidewalls that overlie the top surface and opposite sides of connector housing near the rear part thereof. The opposing sidewalls of the U-shaped section each have pegs that extend from their lower longitudinal edges.
These pegs are press-fit into mounting holes of a circuit board when the connector is mounted thereon. The pegs are soldered to contact pads of a grounding circuit on the circuit board, while the solder tail portions of the connector terminals that extend out of the connector at its rear are also soldered to selected contact pads of the circuit. Such a connector is mounted on the circuit board solely by way of its two mounting pegs that are positioned at the end of the connector. Such a mounting arrangement does not have strong resistance to external forces that occur when the opposing connector is inserted into or removed from the circuit board connector. Because this connector is mounted only at its rear portion, the open end of the connector, is in effect, cantilevered out from the mounting pegs and repeated insertion and removal of an opposing connector into the hollow opening the connector metal cover will be likely to cause the board connector to either move or work loose from the circuit board, thereby causing an adverse effect on the connection between the connector terminal solder tail portions and the contact pads of the circuit board.
A need therefore exists for an improved circuit board connector that has strong resistance to external forces imparted to the connector during insertion and removal of an opposing connector thereto.